Rodolfo Zelaya Rejoins El Salvador National Team Despite Drama
Following a two-year absence from the national stage and a public feud with Mexican Head
Coach Carlos De Los Cobos, LAFC attacker, Rodolfo Zelaya, rejoins the Salvadorian national squad
ahead of their Group B fixtures against St. Lucia and the Dominican Republic in the CONCACAF Nations
League.
It was reported on Friday, August 30th, that the 31 year old striker Rodolfo “Fito” Zelaya would return to
the national stage, the first time since the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
This comes as a surprise to many, considering De Los Cobos’s recurring denial from calling “Fito”
within the year of his second stint with the team.
This begged the question to whether the federation forced his hand, like former national team
player Norberto “Pajaro” Huezo suggests, or a change of heart from De Los Cobos, due to the lack of
offensive presence the team displayed during the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup (1 goal scored, 4 against),
in which Zelaya did not participate.
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The Salvadorian’s Head Coach assured the media that it was indeed a change of heart that led to the
recent call up of the veteran forward, expressing the importance of the upcoming matches.
“We are entering a difficult stage, in which we need to have the best,” Said the Head Coach. “In that
sense, I know that Rodolfo can contribute a lot… it is that discussion that led me to make this decision.”
De Los Cobos proceeded by shedding light to the quality of the depth in the national pool,
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“I don’t have many resources at my disposal in order to form a more competitive team… I am
demanded of good results, that’s what is expected of coaches,” continued De los Cobos, “That is why I
need to strengthen our team and that is why I called up ‘Fito”.
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The Salvadorian National Team strategist was not the only one to change their mind. Rodolfo Zelaya
had also previously declared never to return to the national team as long as the current head coach
remained in charge.
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“I reacted to quickly when I said I would never return to the national team, but it’s hard to say ‘no’ to the
national team.”
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The shocking news of “Fito’s” call up took everyone by surprise, resulting in mixed feelings within the
national team.
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Veteran Goal Keeper and Captain of the national team, Henry Hernandez, quickly spoke out against the
call up of Zelaya.
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“I am not in favor of ‘Fito’ Zelaya joining the team, it has not been easy for those of us who have been
with the national team to carry the load thanks to the match fixers. Currently the group is pure.”
Others in the locker-room were more open, or at least not publicly against the return of the historic goal
scorer.
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National Team Defender, MarlonTrejo, assured the media that the team needed Zelaya, and that he
welcomes him.
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“We all know the quality he possesses. That is needed in any national team, so he is welcome.”
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Goal Keeper, Kevin Carabantes, also pointed out the need of quality players while providing a more
political answer.
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“Everybody has their own opinion, I will main keep mine private. He’s already here. We need to cover
him up (comfort him/accept him). He has the quality. Many people were asking for him because they
believe he can help us move forward. He’s here and we hope for his contribution to be important forth is
team.”
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Zelaya was one of the names to be involved in the match fixing scandal that broke out in 2013, although
it was never proven that he took money to sell a game.
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The scandal has since marked his name, causing an either love or hate response from the fans.
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El Salvador will receive St. Lucia at home on Saturday, Sep. 7th, and will travel to the Dominican
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Republic for Tuesdays, Sep. 10th, fixture. These games are a part of the CONCAFAC Nations League that
directly link up to the Qatar 2022 World Cup Qualifications.
Goal.com’s Jon Arnold Encourages to Follow a Career in Sports Media
(Dallas, Texas) – Despite sports journalism being a hard industry to break through, Goal.com’s Jon Arnold believes it is worth the struggle.
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On Thursday evening, Arnold shared the joys and struggles he has experienced throughout his short, yet effective career to the University of North Texas at Dallas Sports & Entertainment Writing class.
“It’s worth it,” Arnold said, “This career has been really fulfilling for me. I’m really enjoying it and its worth to pursue.”
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Arnold admits the industry is hard to break through, in comparison to older times.
“Back in the day, it was very easy to be a sports writer. You covered every single sport. You did everything. Now, it’s a little more specialized with the internet.”
You must be able to provide something that makes you valuable.
“Provide something that no one else in the world can do.” Arnold says, “If you do that, you make yourself very marketable in the job market.”
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“It’s not easy to get a journalism job. It’s not always the easiest thing in the current climate.”
And it is preached far too often.
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“I can’t tell you how many times people came in and said, the industry sucks. Don’t even try. The job market is bad.” Arnold remembered, referencing to guest speakers during his college days.
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This proved to be true for Arnold, once the time came to find a job in the field.
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“I knew I wanted to be a sports writer. I had all this experience, all these internships, and I couldn’t get a job in sports writing.
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“I ended up working for a small business called Stretch Internet. It’s a company that streams mostly college sports on the internet.
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“I ended up working there for almost three years. Totally outside of the media industry, totally outside of essentially what I wanted to do.”
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Arnold did not let this set back determine his future. He kept working and eventually met his goals.
“If a person doesn’t think you’re good enough, push through. It really is worth it, if you can get a career in this industry. It can be incredibly fulfilling and incredibly joyful.”
He currently works full time as a Goal.com soccer journalist and was able to cover the 2018 men’s World Cup.
“It was a huge dream come true to be there. The World Cup was a big goal.”
FC Dallas, DFW’s Invisible Younger Brother
(Dallas, Texas) – For the last four years, FC Dallas has been a top performer in the MLS, and arguably the best professional team in the DFW metroplex.
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So you would think the Frisco based professional soccer team should be receiving the most coverage, right?
Unfortunately, no.
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Texas is football nation. As FC Dallas Social Media Manager, Claudia Castillo puts it, “in Texas, football is king”.
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The Dallas Cowboys, who are one of the most popular franchises in the world, will naturally take most of the attention.
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The competition only continues, as both the Mavericks and Rangers have the local popularity needed to occupy the rest of the spotlight available.
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A reason for the lack of popularity and coverage of FC Dallas, in part, could be because of its age.
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The team was funded in 1996 and went by the name Dallas Burn. It wasn’t until 2004 when it was changed to FC Dallas.
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The franchise rebranding not only changed the team's name, mascot, and colors, but also the philosophy towards building a team.
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The Dallas Burn was not necessarily known for acquiring big-name talent, but they were not shy of the approach either.
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The most famous and elite player to ever wear a professional Dallas soccer jersey, is Mexican legend, Hugo Sanchez.
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1996 was the only year Sanchez played for Dallas, but it was those types of singings that created fan interest towards the team.
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He wasn’t the most famous player to wear a Dallas jersey because of what he did with the club, but because of what he had accomplished throughout his career before arriving to Dallas.
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Sanchez dominated for club and country.
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He earned 58 caps and scored 29 goals with the Mexican National Team, played 188 games and scored 97 goals for Mexican club Pumas UNAM, appeared in 155 games with 82 goals for Spaniard club Atletico Madrid, and scored 208 goals in 283 appearances for Spaniard giants Real Madrid, among many more for various more clubs.
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Sanchez was not the only notable name on the Burn roster.
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The team also had Colombian great, Leonel Alvarez, former Salvadoran international, Jorge Rodriguez, and former U.S. international, Eddie Johnson.
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The approach changed after the rebranding.
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For the most part, FC Dallas has not signed big name players. Instead, the focus has been on acquiring young, inexpensive players and developing homegrown players from their academy.
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This is an approach that has both benefited and backfired.
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FC Dallas has managed to be an MLS title contender for the last four years, have finished first in the Western Conference in three of the four years, and have brought home an Open Cup trophy and Supporters Shield title within that time.
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There has been a relative success, but the lack of exposer is the backfire.
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While Dallas signs young, unknown talent, other clubs around the league have signed big-name players or young up-and-coming talents that are on the world's radar, resulting in a great amount of national and international media attention for these clubs.
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There are two ways FC Dallas will get more media coverage.
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The first option is a long-term commitment that will require the team to win more trophies at a more frequent rate for the next several years.
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Or, make one or two big-name signings and win a title in the next season or two.
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This will not only put FC Dallas on the DFW spotlight, but on the national, and possibly international spotlight.
Flamengo Win ‘Libertadores’ Title in the Final Three Minutes
(Santiago, Chile) – A night of drama, passion, and a tactical chess game ended with Flamengolifting the 2019 “Copa Libertadores” for the first time since 1981 (Second in History), leaving River Platewith the desire of what what’ve been their second consecutive title.
From the moment the whistle blew, days before the game even started, the excitement was sky high for the 2019 “Copa Libertadores”, which featured clubs from the biggest, most popular soccer countries in South America.
Brazil’s Flamengo won their ticket by dominating their countrymanGremino (6-1 agg.), while Argentina’s River Plate secured their second consecutive ‘Libertadores’ final and third final in the last four years, by defeating their arch rivals, Boca Juniors.
Jorge Jesus’sFlamengo side is known to throw themselves forward and overwhelm the opposition with their attacking talent.
While Marcelo Gallardo’s River Plate have mastered tactical discipline, not receiving many goals, but scoring when then the opportunity arises.
Although it took ten minutes for the first attempt at goal to occur, the intensity was high from the beginning. The battles were on the coach’s tactics and the middle of the field.
Both teams were not sharp on once heading to the final third but were aggressive in the middle of the field as they tried to control the match.
That wasn’t until the 14thminutes when Rafael Santos Borreopened the scoring board, granting River Plate the lead, and control of the game.
This would be true for the majority of the game.
The game was in the Argentine’s club’s favor, with the task in hand being to see the game out and take the second consecutive and fifth ‘Copa Libertadores’ title in history home.
Until “Gabigol” happened.
On the 89thminute, Flamengo’s Gabriel Barbosa leveled the game with the close ranged shot serviced by Giorgian Arrascaeta, forcing the game to be sent to overtime, if the score were to remain the same.
Flamengo smelled blood and were not done.
Jorge Jesus’s gamble of subbing out all his defensive midfielders in favor for his creative players at the moment seemed to pay off.
Three minutes later, the game was sealed.
“Gabigol” does it again, taking advantage of River Plate’s Javier Pinola’sawkward back header intended for the keeper.
Emotions rise high.
Flamengo’s fanbase exploding in joy, River Plate’s Ezequiel Palaciolosing his temper, and soccer witnessing yet another unforgettable moment that can only be written in the movies.
For the second time in history, Flamengo are South American’s champions.
For the second time in history, Flamengo lift the ‘Copa Libertadores’.
USMNT Takes Steps in Dual National’s Dilemma
The USMNT has made the most of their February friendly against Costa Rica, taking the 1-0 win, and granting debuts to seven newcomers, two of which are dual nationals.
Since Jonathan Gonzalez’s one-time switch to Mexico, there has been public and media pressure toward the US Soccer heads in the debate of convincing dual nationals to commit to the US.
Saturday’s game will please those who apply that pressure, as the hometown kid, Uly Llanez, of Mexican decent and made his first appearance, first start, and notched his first senior goal in his international career for the US National Team (not cap tied from a friendly appearance).
Llanez is one of the more exciting prospects out there for both the US and Mexico who most recently played the u20 World Cup for the Americans.
Both the explosive young winger and his father have been public in expressing their disappointment in the lack of communication from the Federation prior to this call up.
Another of the debutants was son of former FC Dallas star player and Columbian playmaker, David Ferreira.
The 19-year-old, Jesus Ferreira shined in his first start as the teams Forward, a position in which is still up to grabs.
Ferreira did not score, but his ability to open up spaces, contribute to the buildup of the play, and his defensive awareness are nothing less than impressive.
Llanez and Ferreira were not the only dual nationals available for the game. 18-year-old Mexican American Julian Araujo and 17-year-old Cameroonian-American Bryang Kayo were also brought into the camp, though were not chosen to make an appearance.
Although the recruiting system that directly affects these players remains flawed, recent actions suggests Sporting Director Earnie Stewartand Head Coach Greg Berhalter are making an effort to lure them into the program.
“when it comes to dual nationals, they have to choose with their hearts... Sometimes it’s going to be us. Sometimes it’s going to be other countries,” says Berhalter.
Aside from this game against Costa Rica, the more recent dual national victory remains to be Dutch-American, Sergino Dest's decision to represent the stars and stripes over his native country.